Tangerine Dream ‎– Rubycon

If Phaedra invented the Berlin-School sound, then Rubycon defined it. Taking all of the individual elements of the former album, Tangerine Dream arranged them into a winning formula: each side opens and closes with washes of ambient sound, with an improvised sequencer section in the middle. Part One opens with a rich, glorious display of the nearest the band came to Eno's style of 'ambient' music, particularly excellent in its use of electric piano to add warmth and texture. If this type of music, and TD themselves, have become synonymous with extended sequencer workouts then it's interesting to note that that particular element of the track doesn't come in until almost halfway through the piece. When it finally appears, with a meandering mellotron melody and dramatic reversed piano accompaniment, it becomes one of the most striking and memorable moments in the band's history.

Part Two begins with an unsettling discordant synth and mellotron section, directly referencing Gyorgy Ligeti, before heading off into a much more energetic sequencer section. Almost as strong as the first side, the bubbling sequence is topped with mellotron and electric guitar adding layer after layer of texture. The energy of the piece is astonishing.

Put simply, Rubycon deserves its status as one of the best Tangerine Dream albums, and one of the best electronic records of all time. Its mixture of subtle ambience and rhythmic synth sequences has never been bettered. Sublime.